empressLA

Can I just live this?

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:05:25 -0400

Can I just live this?

WHEN I GET A NUMBER AT THE BAR

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:09:15 -0400

SO TRUE.

wheninla:

(310)…

(818)…

(909)….

Simple and clean is the way… on your b-day (by Empress LA)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:24:00 -0400

Simple and clean is the way… on your b-day (by Empress LA)

I was featured on HelloGiggles last week! What a great birthday...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:50:27 -0400

I was featured on HelloGiggles last week! What a great birthday gift! Take a look— :)

hellogiggles:

Cents And Sensibility: STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS - AN INTERVIEW WITH A YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR

by Mary Dacuma

#flamingo #coachella #toofun #andhot (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:43:50 -0400

#flamingo #coachella #toofun #andhot (Taken with instagram)

pop. pop. Beyonce.Tumblr.com will be the death of my...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:38:54 -0400

pop. pop.

Beyonce.Tumblr.com will be the death of my productivity.

Attire: Business Formal (by Empress LA)

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:49:00 -0400

Attire: Business Formal (by Empress LA)

NYMag: When Did Young People Start Spending 25% of Their Paychecks on Pickled Lamb’s Tongues?

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:25:00 -0400

NYMag: When Did Young People Start Spending 25% of Their Paychecks on Pickled Lamb’s Tongues?:

Welcome to the lives of everyone at Six Taste. However, I’m sure our paychecks are more like 75% dedicated to food, 20% to gas, and 5% everything else.

They talk about food and restaurants incessantly, and their social lives are organized around them. Some are serious home cooks who seek to duplicate the feats of their chef-heroes in their own kitchens; others barely use a stove. Above all, they are avowed culinary agnostics whose central motivation is simply to hunt down and enjoy the next most delicious meal, all the better if no one else has yet heard of it. Dish snapshots and social-network check-ins are a given.

One more! Sign up for more info @ http://vesterie.com (Taken...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:41:50 -0500

One more! Sign up for more info @ http://vesterie.com (Taken with instagram)

For all you night owls: here’s a sneak peek of my next...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:22:00 -0500

For all you night owls: here’s a sneak peek of my next entrepreneurial project! Coming Spring 2012!

Join the interest list at Vesterie.com.

Yummy Breaded Artichoke Heart Balls from Pici Enoteca! (Taken...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:31:39 -0500

Yummy Breaded Artichoke Heart Balls from Pici Enoteca! (Taken with instagram)

Somewhere in Dreamland is a cartoon by Dave Fleischer from 1936....

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:37:09 -0500

Somewhere in Dreamland is a cartoon by Dave Fleischer from 1936. As a child, I would watch it over and over on VHS with my little brother. Who wouldn’t want to wake up in a Dreamland with popcorn fields and ice cream flowers? And that ending! I always ended up teary-eyed.

Being so young, I didn’t quite understand that this was made during the Great Depression. I can only imagine the emotions this would have created in those who went to the cinema back then.

Anyway, I’m sure I’m not the only one who still dreams about food like these kids do. Foodie for life, yo!

My closet: before and after! #closetrich #cashpoor (Taken with...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:58:04 -0500

My closet: before and after! #closetrich #cashpoor (Taken with instagram)

Scored these fuschia babies for less than $50! I should have...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:29:16 -0500

Scored these fuschia babies for less than $50! I should have given up shoes for Lent… (Taken with instagram)

Hot Topic: Contraception, the Catholic Church, and Women's Health

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:29:00 -0500

Hot Topic: Contraception, the Catholic Church, and Women's Health:

In case you didn’t already know, it’s 2012.

Here I am, an independent 24 year old woman with a degree, running my own business, with no plans to get married or have children in the near future. It’s crazy to think that just a few decades ago, this wouldn’t have been normal. I’d probably be wearing a skirt, a corset, and some nylons instead of pants right now. Luckily, the fashion world is open to change; I can’t say the same about politics and religion.

So, this being 2012 and all, I’m appalled with the fact that just last week, not one woman was invited to take part in a panel about women’s health and religious freedom. I understand the religious debate over contraception— I went to Christian grade schools and all-girls Catholic high school. We were mostly taught abstinence, and if abstinence didn’t work, we were not to mess with the precious gift of life. It wasn’t until after did I finally understand that contraception wasn’t negative, unhealthy, or evil. Actually, for many women, contraception is a savior.

As the issues regarding religion and contraception continue to unfold, I urge you to take a look at this essay by Malcolm Gladwell. Published by the New Yorker in the year 2000, “John Rock’s Error” illustrates the invention of the Pill by a devout Catholic, whose efforts to create a contraceptive solution that pleased the Church ended up creating repercussions that will impact women’s health for years to come.

Interestingly, our nation is treading a similar path as Dr. John Rock did more than sixty years ago. He let his own religious ideologies decide what is right for all women when he developed and distributed the Pill.

John Rock made an error. Hopefully our country’s decision makers won’t do the same.

Ladies Night! @frannypackk @pandaxface @camille_dizon @eryne ...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:44:33 -0500

Ladies Night! @frannypackk @pandaxface @camille_dizon @eryne (Taken with instagram)

En peu vulgar, but… I EFFING LOVE THESE PEOPLE.

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:41:34 -0500

En peu vulgar, but… I EFFING LOVE THESE PEOPLE.

Flowers for me! I feel so loved— flowers are expensive,...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:02:24 -0500

Flowers for me! I feel so loved— flowers are expensive, you know! (Taken with instagram)

That’s my kind of science. jtotheizzoe: The Science...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:46:53 -0500

That’s my kind of science.

jtotheizzoe:

The Science of Why Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ Makes Everyone Cry

Tension, resolution, and the ever important “buildy-ness” (which is a term I invented but is accurate), these are the characteristics behind the most extreme emotional reactions to songs:

Twenty years ago, the British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an “appoggiatura.”

An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. “This generates tension in the listener,” said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. “When the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good.”

Chills often descend on listeners at these moments of resolution. When several appoggiaturas occur next to each other in a melody, it generates a cycle of tension and release. This provokes an even stronger reaction, and that is when the tears start to flow.

There’s just about the most detailed scientific analysis of a Grammy-winning song ever at the link.

(via WSJ.com)

Whitney Houston was one of the most influential voices of my...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:34:09 -0500

Whitney Houston was one of the most influential voices of my life. I was working in Beverly Hills when I heard the news, and I am still in shock. Her music really touched my life, and I couldn’t express myself any other way.

Here’s my a capella tribute to Whitney Houston — I Will Always Love You.